In response to a House Oversight Committee document request, Trump’s lawyers sent a slick pamphlet describing how he’s NOT going to track money he receives from foreign governments, strictly prohibited by the Constitution’s emoluments clause.  Much has been written by legal scholars about Trump’s egregious violations of the Constitutional provision, and it’s all been ignored by the GOP and surprisingly, the press.  The Brookings Institute has published some of the best analysis of Trump’s real and continuing problem of taking money from foreign governments. It’s an impeachable offense, but no one is even trying, at least yet, to do anything about it.  Bloomberg has written about how money is pouring into Trump’s DC hotel which is housed in the Old Post Office building, both from foreign governments and GOP World, which has established the hotel as its new headquarters.  Oh, BTW, Trump is also violating federal rules prohibiting leasing to an elected official, but that’s another story the press is ignoring.

Before the inauguration, Trump said that he was putting all of his interests in a trust, which he didn’t, and wouldn’t be involved, which he is.  The pamphlet generally outlines how his spider web of hotels, resorts, and golf clubs will attempt to track payments, but basically says that it’s just too difficult, “impractical” I believe it says, to track all the payments.

So there.  Emoluments Clause?  We don’t need no Emoluments Clause – it’s just too hard to keep up with the graft, so we’ll just not try.  Just another day in Trumpland.

o

You know that politics has come a long ways where there’s a floor fight in a Democratic Party primary in California and both of the candidates are hooter toters.

It wasn’t all that long ago when wimmen folks would be making the coffee and cookies at the convention. They still do at GOP conventions.

But not now for Democrats.  And Juanita thinks it’s great.  “Get your butt kickin’ game on, Girl!” is her opinion of the situation.

One of the most watched primary campaigns of 2010, and one of the most dramatic, is taking to the floor of the California Democratic Party Convention on Sunday, April 18th.

In an impressive feat against blue-dog incumbent Congresswoman Jane Harman, primary challenger and progressive democrat, Marcy Winograd, has secured more than the needed number of votes to pull Harman’s Democratic Party endorsement recommendation and open the contest to debate today, Sunday, the last day of the convention.

And Juanita was plenty proud to see her typewriter hero, Jim Hightower, lending support to the progressive candidate.

Juanita is the proud owner of one of Jim Hightower’s famous cowboy hats, worn by Jim Himself.  When she gets writer’s block, she puts it on.  It doesn’t help any at all, but it is a powerful fashion statement. “I think Jim squeezed all the good ideas out of it before he put it up for auction,” she says.

“Although the blue dog won with a close vote of 599-417, it’s a worthy battle when women feel secure enough to tooth and nail it,” Juanita contends.

She’s probably right.

“Bless their little hearts,” Juanita greets me as I enter the beauty salon this cold, wet morning.  Juanita is wearing hot pink capri pants with a lime green “Get Hot in the Bahamas” tee-shirt.  Juanita operates under the theory that if you ignore winter, it will go away.  She generally wins that one.

“Those addled little Republicans, with Texas’ own Pistol Pete Sessions leading the charge, have done shot themselves in the foot again,” she grins.

She points to to the computer to read this.

In a fundraising letter, NRCC chair Pete Sessions lets donors in AL 05 know their “Democrat in Congress has been falling in line with Nancy Pelosi’s destructive liberal agenda.” The only problem is the NRCC is backing that incumbent, Rep. Parker Griffith (R).

“I guess Pistol Pete is earning his spurs in those foreign states,”  Juanita says.  “Hey, we’re proud to let him spread his Republican brand of stoopid all over the place.  The boy’s over his limit here.”